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Estate Planning

Babette B. Bach, Esq. to Speak at the Institute of Advanced Medicine

By Firm News, Medicaid Planning, Medicare

 Babette Bach will be the keynote speaker for a seminar on November 21, 2012 at the Institute of Advanced Medicine in Sarasota, Florida.  Topics will include Medicare and Medicaid, along with elder law advice on financial matters and asset protection planning.

Ms. Bach is looking forward to speaking to the members of the hospital staff on such important topics.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicare, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.

November 16, 2012
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Reverse Mortgage-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks Stronger Disclosures

By Elder Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning stronger disclosure requirements for reverse mortgages as more evidence emerges that senior citizens are using the product without fully understanding its main features and risks.

As part of a Dodd-Frank Act requirement, the agency was set to release a study showing  that signs reverse mortgages are not being used as intended, with increasingly younger borrowers taking out larger pots of money rather than gradual income streams to help finance their later years.

The bureau, which is required to study the reverse mortgage sector and identify potential consumer protection concerns, found that 73% of borrowers last year accessed nearly all or almost all of their home equity available in the reverse mortgage — an increase of 30 percentage points since 2008 — leaving few funds available later in life.

Nearly half of borrowers were younger than 70, and taking out a loan at the earliest eligibility (typically age 62) has become more common. The study found the biggest players in selling reverse mortgages currently are nonbanks, and the sector is “increasingly dominated by small originators.” The two largest providers, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, left the market last year and MetLife left it in April.

“It can be hard to tell a reverse mortgage is better than downsizing, refinancing or using a traditional home equity loan,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. “Even when a homeowner makes a careful decision to take out a reverse mortgage, it can be a challenge to select the right product and determine the appropriate amount to borrow initially.”

Consumers need to better understand reverse mortgage loans.  Additionally, consumers need to understand that this is an expensive product which is only recommended as a last resort.

If you need legal advice for reviewing a reverse mortgage, Medicaid planning, VA planning, tax planning, estate planning or trust and probate administration please contact our office for an initial consultation at (941) 906-1231.

September 27, 2012
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Who can Draft a Qualified Income Trust?

By Elder Law, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning

Only an attorney is licensed to draft a Qualified Income Trust.Medicaid planning companies are not licensed to draft Qualified Income Trusts, unless they have a Florida licensed attorney on staff who is directly and actively representing the trust Grantor.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation at (941) 906-1231.

September 6, 2012
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When Should You Update Your Estate Plan?

By Estate Planning

An outdated estate plan is an ineffective estate plan, so you need to make sure you keep your plan up-to-date. There are certain key life moments when you need to revisit your plan.

  • When you get married — either a first marriage or a remarriage.
  • When you have children or grandchildren, you can use your estate plan to name a guardian for your children and to create a trust for your minor heirs.
  • If your spouse dies or you get divorced, you should make sure your estate plan reflects this.
  • If your estate increases in value or decreases in value, you may need to evaluate your estate plan to determine if it properly minimizes estate taxes.

Other reasons to have your estate plan updated could include:

  • You move to another state
  • Federal or state estate tax laws have changed
  • A guardian, executor, or trustee is no longer able to serve
  • You wish to change your beneficiaries
  • It has been more than 5 years since the plan has been reviewed by an attorney
  • If you or your spouse become ill, especially if the illness may result in long term care expenses such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s
  • If you wish to consider tax planning
  • If you have a disabled spouse, child or grandchild a special needs trust may save thousands of dollars in care costs

Contact our office to schedule an initial consultation for any Probate or trust administration, tax advice, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, or Veterans Benefits needs at (941) 906-1231.

August 31, 2012
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What is a Qualified Income Trust?

By Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning

If your income exceeds the amount to qualify for Medicaid long term care services, ($2,094.00 per month for 2012) a Qualified Income Trust allows you to become eligible by depositing income into an irrevocable income trust each month that you qualify for Medicaid.The QIT involves a written trust agreement and a separate bank account for making deposits.  The income you deposit into the QIT account is used to pay for the Medicaid recipient’s patient responsibility payments and medical expenses.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation at (941) 906-1231.

August 31, 2012
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How to Avoid Problems as a Trustee

By Elder Law, Estate Planning

Being a trustee requires significant legal knowledge and if one does not perform their duties properly, a trustee may be personally liable. That’s why it’s important to have legal guidance.

A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a “trustee,” holds legal title to property for another person, called a “beneficiary.” If you have been appointed the trustee of a trust, this is a strong vote of confidence in your judgment, ethics and skill sets.

A trustee’s duties include locating and protecting trust assets, investing assets prudently, distributing assets to beneficiaries, keeping track of income and expenditures, and filing taxes.  As a trustee, you have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the trust, meaning that you have an obligation to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries at all times.

A trustee is usually entitled to hire an attorney (and other professionals like an accountant) to assist in trust administration. The attorney’s fees will be paid from the trust funds. While hiring an attorney will cost money, not having an attorney at all could cost a trustee much more if errors are made.

A trust can be administered without court involvement, but that doesn’t mean that the administration is simple. There are many areas where problems can arise — for example, if assets aren’t invested properly, taxes are late, or if proper records aren’t kept. If something goes wrong during the administration of the trust, the trustee can be removed and held personally liable for any costs incurred or losses suffered. Even if a spouse is the trustee, he or she should still consult with an attorney.

If you need legal advice for trust administration, probate, tax advice, estate planning, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation at (941) 906-1231.

August 24, 2012
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Estate Tax

By Estate Planning, Tax Law

The Estate Tax is a tax on your right to transfer property at your death. It consists of an accounting of everything you own or have certain interests in at the date of death (Refer to Form 706 ). The fair market value of these items is used, not necessarily what you paid for them or what their values were when you acquired them. The total of all of these items is your “Gross Estate.” The includible property may consist of cash and securities, real estate, insurance, trusts, annuities, business interests and other assets.

Once you have accounted for the Gross Estate, certain deductions are allowed in arriving at your “Taxable Estate.” These deductions may include mortgages and other debts, estate administration expenses, property that passes to surviving spouses and qualified charities. The value of some operating business interests or farms may be reduced for estates that qualify.

After the net amount is computed, the value of lifetime taxable gifts (beginning with gifts made in 1977) is added to this number and the tax is computed. The tax is then reduced by the available unified credit.

Most estates do not require the filing of a federal estate tax return. Under current law, a filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $5,000,000 or more for decedent’s dying in 2011.

August 2, 2012
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Definition of a Florida Power of Attorney

By Elder Law, Estate Planning

A Power of Attorney is a legal document appointing authority to another individual to act as your Agent on your behalf.   The authority granted depends on the specific language you choose to include in your Power of Attorney.

 

A Power of Attorney is an important and powerful legal document.  One should always consult an attorney to have the appropriate preference made for clear instruction on how you would like your affairs managed if you are unable to do so yourself.

 

Most Power of Attorneys give their Agent  the right to sell vehicles, real or personal property on your behalf, to enter into a contract on your behalf, to handle financial transactions or to sign legal documents for the maker of the Power of Attorney.  Your Agent must always act in your best interest.

 

The designated person appointed to act on your behalf is called an Agent or Attorney-in-Fact.  Any competent person over the age of 18 or, in certain situations, some financial institutions can serve as an Agent.  It is very important to choose someone reliable and trustworthy.  The Attorney-in-Fact is a fiduciary who is held to a high standard of care and record keeping.  Power of Attorneys are a valuable tool to avoiding a guardianship if you become incapacitated.
Contact our office to schedule an initial consultation for any Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, or Veterans Benefits needs.

 

June 18, 2012
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Simple Will vs. a Revocable Living Trust by Babette B. Bach, Esquire

By Elder Law, Estate Planning, Probate

Simple Will vs. a Revocable Living Trust :
Simple Will:  A very effective tool to designate who gets what after death.  Probate is required but this is not usually a difficult process.  The average cost of probate is 3% of the probate assets and the average length of time to complete is six months.  Many assets are not part of the probate estate such as jointly titled real estate, IRAs, annuities, life insurance policies and jointly held assets.

 

Revocable Living Trusts;   These are more complex documents which provide for the trustee to manage assets while the settler is alive but incapacitated or deceased.  It can hold assets in trust for a variety of reasons after the settlor’s death.  Typical reasons may include, a spendthrift child, a disabled descendent, an income trust for the life of a surviving spouse, then residue to children upon death of surviving spouse, Charitable foundations, Pet trusts, generation trusts and tax planning etc.  There is still administrative work to do to administer a trust. Typical costs run about 2% of the trust estate.  It takes about the same amount of time to administer a trust as to probate a Will.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Medicaid planning, or VA planning, please contact our office for an initial consultation.

 

Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law

Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
Bach & Jacobs, P.A.

240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700

Sarasota, FL 34236

941-906-1231

941-954-1185 facsimile

www.bachjacobs.com

April 24, 2012
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Probating a Lost Will in Florida by Babette B. Bach, Esquire

By Probate

Often family members are given copies of wills for safekeeping, but trouble arises when someone dies and the original will is lost.  In Florida, when an original will is known to have existed but can not be located, there is a presumption that the person destroyed the will with the intent to revoke it.  Therefore, a party probating a lost will must present evidence at a hearing to overcome this presumption.  Don’t panic, as it is possible in most cases to overcome this presumption.

 

Florida courts will allow testimony at a hearing from a disinterested witness to prove the execution and contents of a lost will.  If there is an exact copy of the lost original will, the testimony of only one witness to the will execution is required.  However, an unsigned draft of a will does not constitute an exact copy.  If there is no exact copy of a signed will, then the testimony of two disinterested witnesses are required to prove the execution and content of the document.  In every case, a hearing is required in order to satisfy the requirements of Florida Statute 733.207 and relevant Florida case law.

Contact the law firm of Bach & Jacobs, P.A. for an initial consultation.
Babette B. Bach, Esquire, Board Certified Elder Law
Fredric C. Jacobs, Esquire, Board Certified Tax Law
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 906-1231
www.bachjacobs.com

February 8, 2012
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